Shuttleless weaving looms

ABSTRACT

A fluid jet loom including a weft yarn supply means, weft yarn feed means comprising a weft drive roll means having a pair of drive rolls being continuously driven, storage means for said weft yarn and weft insertion means for said weft yarn, said storage means being arranged between said weft drive roll means and said weft insertion means whereby weft yarn may be fed continuously thereto by said weft drive roll means and intermittently removed therefrom by said weft insertion means.

United States Patent [191 Mawdsley et al.

[451 May 27, 1975 SHUTTLELESS WEAVING LOOMS Inventors: Thomas Blackburn Mawdsley;

Albert Whittle, both of Chorley, England Carrington Viyella Limited, Chorley, Lancashire, England Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 Appl. No.: 402,276

Related U.S. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 201,431, Nov. 23, 1971, abandoned.

Assignee:

U.S. Cl 139/127 P; 139/122 R Int. Cl D03d 47/34; D03d 47/28 Field of Search 139/57, 74, 122 R, 122 H,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1914 Brooks 139/127 P 2,637,349 5/1953 3,140,633 7/1964 Vincent 3,482,606 12/1969 Mizuno 139/127 P FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 2,016,184 10/1971 Germany 139/122 H 1,449,084 7/1966 France 139/127 P Primary Examiner l-lenry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bierman & Bierman [57] I ABSTRACT A fluid jet loom including a weft yarn supply means, weft yarn feed means comprising a weft drive r011 means having a pair of drive rolls being continuously driven, storage means for said weft yarn and weft insertion means for said weft yarn, said storage means being arranged between said weft drive roll means and said weft insertion means whereby weft yarn may be fed continuously thereto by said weft drive roll means and intermittently removed therefrom by said weft insertion means.

13 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures Dunham 139/127 P SHEET MW m,

P,-'.JEHYED W27 i975 885 599 SHEET 2 MAINS SUPPLY SENSlNG UNIT POWER N ANSFORMER AND 0T HEAD.

Y TO CONTRD SHEET cow mum

mxm

I II I SHUTTLELESS WEAVING LOOMS This Application is a continuation of co-pending Ser. No. 201,431, filed Nov. 23, 1971, now abandoned which claims the priority of British Application No. 56842/70 of Nov. 27, 1972.

This invention concerns shuttleless weaving looms and in particular looms in which weft is inserted through a formed warp shed by means of a fluid jet, such as a jet of water or gas, or a loom in which a pellet (which may be detachable) is formed on the end of a weft yarn to enable it to be propelled (by fluid jet or mechanically) across a warp shed. Such looms will hereinafter be referred to for convenience as a fluid jet loom Fluid jet looms are known in which a weft is inserted through a formed shed and in which means are provided for ensuring that the weft is drawn to the requisite tension before being cut off at the edge of the fabric. With such a loom patterning effects are restricted since only one weft inserting means is provided and thus, whilst more than one yarn may be inserted through the weft inserting head into the fabric and thus patterning is restricted to the weaving patterns available as a result of shedding arrangements.

It has also been proposed to insert weft in a fluid jet loom by the alternate use of two jets each one being used to cause insertion of a weft from its own supply but here again patterning is restricted since the wefts are only capable of being inserted alternatively and thus the only patterning effects available are those available as a result of shedding arrangements and those obtainable by the use of two alternatively inserted wefts of different colour.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide in a fluid jet loom means by which the patterning possibilities are enhanced by providing means for inserting weft from at least one source in a manner hitherto not possible and additionally or alternatively by inserting weft from more than one source in such a manner that a group of weft yarns from each source can be inserted followed by a group of weft yarns from a different source.

Thus according to one aspect of the present invention a fluid jet loom is characterised by the provision of means whereby a supply of a weft to a fluid jet head may be discontinued for a predetermined number of increments of time, means for continuing loom take up mechanism whilst said weft is not being supplied and programming means adapted, in use, to cause weft feed to the fluid jet head and to discontinue such weft feed as required to create a pattern effect.

According to a further aspect of the present invention a fluid jet loom is characterised by the provision of at least two weft yarn feed means, each means being adapted to feed weft yarn to a fluid jet head means, means being provided selectively to discontinue the feed means of one or more weft yarns for a predetermined number of increments of time whilst a feed means for a different weft yarn is operative to supply weft to its jet head means, and at least one programming means adapted to control the manner and sequence of operation of the weft feed means and their associated fluid jet head means to provide for the creation of a patterning effect in the material produced when the loom is in use.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a loom made in accordance with the invention, some of the loom mechanisms being shown in block outline form;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in simple form circuitry used in an electrically operated pattern control system;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of part of a loom made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of that part of a loom shown in FIG. 1 and showing the relative positions of additional loom parts;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of another part of the loom of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detail of part of the mechanism shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the arrangement of parts shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a detail partially in section and to a larger scale of certain parts of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of part of the patterning device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a part sectional, part broken away view of the loom part shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration of a modification of part of the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 10;

FIGS. 12 and 12a show diagrammatically a modification of parts of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 13 is a perspective diagrammatic view of part of a loom made in accordance with one form of the invention in which pattern control is achieved mechanically, and

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of parts of the loom shown in FIG. 11;

It should be understood that, although a means for inserting two weft yarns into the shed of a warp sheet is referred'to below, this is not intended to limit the invention to such an arrangement since more than two weft yarns may be inserted using the same principals of operation by the inclusion of additional machine elements, and in fact that patterning effects using one weft yarn only can be created using some only of the machine elements referred to below.

For the purpose of definition, it is hereby stated that the, phrase an increment of time is to be construed as meaning the time taken to cause one weft pick to be inserted into the warp shed, beaten up and severed from the weft yarn supply, and for the beat up reed to move to a position such that a further weft pick can be inserted.

Referring first to FIG. 1 it can be seen that a fluid jet loom made in accordance with this invention includes a weft package carrier upon which provision is made for carrying two weft packages P and P, such carrier conveniently being mounted at one side of the loom frame at a position between the heald frames H and the warp beam W and a height from the loom base somewhat greater than the height of the warp sheets S.

Forwardly of the carrier are provided yarn guide and tensions means T over which weft p, p from each package P, P can be led to the entrance of a yarn storage element S.E.

Between the yarn guide and tension means T and the yarn storage element S.E. is provided, for each of the two weft yarns, a yarn drive roller arrangement DR. comprising as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 two rollers and 11 between which a weft yarn p or p is passed. These two rollers 10, 11 are positively driven from a source of power, one roller shaft say 10a having mounted thereon a pulley 12 wrapped by a belt 13 which wraps a drive pulley 14 which is arranged to be driven directly from the source of power. The shaft 10a of this roller 10 is also provided with a pinion 15 which meshes with a pinion 16 of a shaft 11a of the roller 11. The roller 11 is carried upon a bracket 17 of a pivotable arm 18 so that its position relative to the roller 10 can be changed by an amount sufficient to separate the rollers 10, 11 for an increment of time as defined herein so that when the loom is in operation, a weft yarn p or p is not gripped (and hence is not drawn from the supply package P or P'.) At the position of maximum separation of the rollers 10, 11 however the pinions 15 and 16 remain in mesh so that both rollers 10, 11 can be driven continuously whether supplying weft yarn p or p or not to the storage element SE. The means for lifting and lowering the pivotally mounted roller 11 will be referred to below. It will be noted that the pinions l5 and 16 as shown in FIG. 3 seem to be larger in diameter than their associated rollers 10, 11. This need not be the case and in fact as can be seen from FIG. 4 the pinions and rollers are of substantially the same diameter.

Forwardly of the yarn storage element SE. in the weft supply direction, is provided a weft clamping device (see FIGS. 5 and 7) for each weft yarn pp. The clamping devices each comprise a pair of blocks or discs 19 and 19a between which a weft yarn p or p passes. One block or disc, say 19 is movable (by a means yet to be described) towards and away from the other 19a, so that in one position the weft yarn p or p can pass freely between the blocks or discs 19, 19a and in the other it is firmly held against movement.

The yarn storage element SE. is in the form of a hollow, substantially U-shaped element 20 having at the base of the U a single hollow connecting tube 21 which is connected to a source of suction 21a (see FIG. 13) by means of which air can be drawn through the arms of the U continuously to entrain a loop or weft. One weft yarn p passes into one arm of the U from one set of rollers 10, 11 and the other yarn p passes into the other arm of the U from its pair of rollers 10,11.

The end of the loop of weft from the rollers 10, 11 passes into the arm of the U at one side and leaves the same arm of the U at the other side through inlet and outlet guides 22 and 23 respectively, and the end of the loop passing from guide 23 extends towards the clamping blocks 19, 19a.

The yarn tension clamp T is in the form of a pair of discs or blocks 24, 25 one of which, say 25 can be loaded by any predetermined amount to press upon the yarn passing between it and the disc or block 24 to impart the desired tension to the weft yarns p or p.

The weft yarns p and p are each passed around a guide element 26 before passing to the rollers 10, 11. The guide elements 26 are each carried at the free ends of support arms 27, each of which is fixed to a part of the loom frame which in the loom being described is a part 28 in each of which is mounted one of the shafts 10a for the roller 10. The pivotal arms 18 are in fact pivoted to parts 28 of the lower stationary portion of the feeding heads by pivot pins 29. As shown in FIGS.

3 and 4 the pivotal arms 18 are each provided at one of their free ends with a spring 30 having at its end a hook 300 arranged to be removably attached to a retaining pin 31 fixed to the parts 28 of the loom. At the opposite ends of each of the arms 18 is provideda lever 32 which is pivotally connected to its arm 18 and also to the core of a solenoid 33 or 33a (for clarity one of the pivoted arms 18 is omitted from FIG. 4 to enable the pinion 15 to be shown).

The solenoid windings are each provided with a pair of leads 34, 34a which are themselves connected to a pair of photo cell sensing units from which leads are taken to the photo cells 35 and 35a (see FIGS. 1. 9 and 10). i

The photo cells 35 and 35a (together with a photo cell 36 to be referred to below) are mounted on a carrier bar 37 (see FIG. 9) to lie at one side of a slotted plate 38 part, the other side of which can be passed a programme element 39. In the loom being described the programme element 39 is in the form of an endless band of flexible material such as card upon which are fixed strips of reflective tape 40, 41 and 42. The strip 40 is positioned to pass the slotted plate 38 in alignment with the photo cell 35 and the strip 41 to pass the plate in alignment with the photo cell 35a. The strip 42 passes the slotted plate 38 in alignment with the photo cell 36. The lengths of the strips 40, 41 and 42are such that whilst each is passing the slotted plate a loom function is caused to be carried out. In the case being described, the strip 40 serves to cause a weft yarn p to be fed to the warp sheet, the strip 41 serves to cause the weft p to be fed to the warp sheet andthe. strip 42 serves to cause a solenoid to operate to shifta water jet head and to operate a selector valve S.V. to enable one of the weft yarns p or p to be inserted into the shed of the warp sheet. These operations will be described fur ther below. i

The programme element 39 is provided along its 1 edges with holes 43 which are engaged by pins 44 on a double drive sprocket 45 which is carried by a drive shaft 46 which latter is rotated from any convenient drive shaft (not shown) of the loom. At the position at which the programme element 39 passes the slotted plate 38 the element 39 is supported by a support plate 47.

Adjacent the edge of the warp sheets S at a position substantially in line with that of the .fell of the fabric is a fluid jet weft injection head I.I-l. which maybe reciprocable in the horizontal plane in guide means as shown I in FIGS. 5 and 7 or pivotal as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The injection head is arranged to befed with fluid from a selector valve means S.V. which is provided with a line 48 from a pump (not shown). The fluid is fed intermittently in known manner to the selector valve S.V. in synchronism withthe loom timing so that i a fluid jet is provided for each pick. To achieve this a cam operated valve 48a is provided in the fluid line48. The operated valve 48a is operated via a cam 48b on shaft 480 (see FIG. 13) in known manner.

The injection head I.l-I. is provided with two spaced apart injection nozzles 49 through each of which passes is, in use, directed to the requisite nozzle 49 when re quired so as to project a length of weft across the shed to be beaten up by a reed 53.

At the position of the fell of the fabric and adjacent the injection head LH. is a weft cutter 54 (conveniently in the form of a heated knife element) which serves to sever the weft yarn p, p close to the edge of the warp sheet when the reed 53 causes the weft to be beaten up into the fell.

As stated above, the injection head 1.11. is reciprocable, additionally the valve port opening pistons of the selector valve S.V. are reciprocable and these two elements are arranged to be moved in synchronism by the use of a selector mechanism S.M. shown in FIG. 1 and in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 7. The selector mechanism S.M. is located at the side of the loom conveniently between the drive rollers DR. and the injection head 1.1-1.

The mechanism S.M. comprises a chain sprocket 55 mounted on any convenient loom shaft 56. This chain sprocket 55 is wrapped by a chain 57 which wraps a driven chain sprocket 58 mounted upon a sprocket shaft 59. Mounted on the sprocket shaft 59 is a selector cam 60 against which, when required for actuating parts of the selector mechanism S.M. bears a cam follower 61. The cam follower 61 is carried on a cam lever 62 at a position intermediate its ends and this cam lever 62 has a notch 62a cut in its free (upper) end for a purpose to be described below. The cam lever 62 is pivotally mounted on an oscillatable selector shaft 63 and between this shaft 63 and the cam follower 61 the lever 62 is provided with a lug 64. The lug 64 is provided with a pivot pin 65 for a lower catch element 66 whose free end is provided with a notch 67 cut in its lower edge. Above the catch element 66 and mounted on the lever 62 is a catch element stop 68. Also mounted on the lever 62, adjacent the stop 68 is a pin 69 to which is attached one end of a light catch element spring 70 the other end of which is secured to the catch element 66 so as normally to hold the element'66 against the stop 68.

Keyed onto one end of the selector shaft 63 is a valve shift lever arm 71, this latter being pivotally connected to a valve shift lever 72 to the other end of which is attached a saddle 73 which, as will be explained, serves to operate the selector valve S.V. Keyed onto the other end of the selector shaft 63 is a boss 74 having two arms thereon (See FIGS. 6 and 7). One arm 75 extends in the substantially horizontal plane and the other 76 in the substantially vertical plane. To the arm 75 is connected a spring 77 which normally tends to turn the arm 75 in a counter clockwise direction. Pivotally attached to the arm 76 is a fluid jet head shift lever 78. Adjacent the arm 76 is a fixed shift lever stop 79 against which the arm 76 abuts at the limit of desired movement of the shift lever 78. The shift lever 78 is connected, by a link 80 to the fluid jet head 1H. so that the injector nozzle 49 from which weft p or p is to be fed is positioned to allow the weft to pass easily through the shed.

As set out above, the lower catch element 66 is notched at 67 and to cooperate with this notch there is provided an integral upward extension 71a of the shift lever arm 71. This extension 710 is notched as at 81 at its free end. The length of the extension 71a is such that when the catch element 66 is against its stop 68 the two notches 67 and 81 are separated so that when the cam lever 62 oscillates no contact is made between the catch element 66 and the extension 71a of the shift lever arm 71.

Extending upwardly from the catch element 66 and guided in a sleeve in a fixed guide 82 is a drop rod 83. The upper end of this rod 83 is connected to a selector arm 84 which is pivotally connected, as at 85 to a fixed part 86 of the loom frame. The selector arm 84 is provided with a catch 87 which is arranged to co-operate with the notch 62a of the cam lever 62 so as, when desired in accordance with the programme. the cam lever 62 can be held in a position such that its cam follower 61 is held clear of the cam 60. To control movement of the selector arm 84 the latter is connected to a link 88 which latter is fixed to the core of a solenoid 89 from the winding of which leads 90 are taken to the photo cell 36. The link 88 is also attached to one end of a spring 91 the other end of which is connected to a fixed arm 92 mounted on a fixed post 93 attached to the loom frame 86. The selector arm 84 is spring biased by a leaf spring 94 normally to hold it in a position such that the catch 87 thereon will lie in the path of movement of the cam lever 62.

The saddle attached to the valve shift lever 72 consists of a pair of arms 73 spaced from the ends of the selector valve S.V. Attached to each arm 73 is a valve piston rod operating member 95, 95a each of which is positionally adjustable on its arm 73. Projecting from the cylinder 96 of the selector valve are piston rods 95 and 95a which are spring loaded externally of the cylinder so as normally to be in a position such that a head 101 of the piston rods is held against the end of a valve port member 97, 98 to close bores 99 therein. The port member 97 having attached thereto the fluid line 51 and the port member 98 connects with the fluid line 52. The bore 99 of the port members 97, 98 is of greater diameter than the diameter of the piston rod 95, 95a which passes therethrough and the bores 99 connect with radial bores 100 and thus the lines 51, 52. The piston rods 95 95a each have a head 101 which is of such a diameter as to be able to close the bore 99 of its port member 97 or 98. The fluid inlet line 48 is connected to a port in the central region of the cylinder 96 so that fluid can pass either to line 51 or line 52 depending upon which piston rod head is moved away from the port member as a result of movement of the valve shift lever 72 and thus movement of the piston rod by the contacting of this latter element by its associated piston rod operating member 95 or 95a.

The injection head 1H. comprises a body part 102 slidable upon a rod 103 mounted in posts 104 which are fixed to the loom frame. Within the body part 102 are mounted the fluid jet injection nozzles 49 to which the fluid lines 51, 52 are connected. Each injection nozzle 49 has a through bore 105 for the passage of a weft yarn p, p and into these bores 105 can be injected fluid from the lines 51, 52 to propel, in use, the weft yarn through the shed of warp yarns S.

In use, assuming that the patterning requires weft yarn p to be inserted for, say twelve successive picks followed by twelve successive picks of the weft yarn p it is necessary to have the right hand insertion nozzle 49 (as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 7) operative. This means that weft yarn p and fluid must be injected into the nozzle 49, the fluid being supplied via the port member 97, via line 51 and that the lower feed rolls 10 11 (as viewed in FIG. 4) must be held together to feed the weft yarn p.

Since the rolls 10, 11 are movably held in engagement by their spring 30, it follows that for the yarn p to be fed to the nozzle 49, no signal must be given to the solenoid 33. This condition is shown in FIG. since there is no reflective tape below the photo cell 35 which as described is connected to solenoid 33. Whilst the solenoid 33 receives no signal the solenoid 33a is energised since reflective tape 41 is passing photo cell 35a and thus the rolls 10, 11 controlled by solenoid 33a are separated, the teeth of their pinions 15, 16 however still remaining in mesh.

There is thus no delivery of weft yarn p to the yarn storage element S.E.

During weaving the shaft 56 is rotated to drive the selector cam 60 via chain wheels 55 and 58 and chain 57. This in turn oscillates the cam lever 62 about the shaft 63. The shaft lever 76 is held against the stop 79 because the arm 75 is held by the spring 77 and thus the right hand nozzle 49 remains in the requisite position for weft insertion.

Since there is reflective tape passing the photo cell 36 the solenoid 89 is energised and thus the selector arm 84 is held in a position such that the catch 87 is not in the path of movement of the cam lever 62 and furthermore the arm 83 is in a raised position so that the catch element 66 is in the raised position against its stop 68.

The valve shift lever 72 is thus not moved and the selector valve port member 98 is open since the piston rod 95a is holding the head 101 clear of the end of the axial bore 99. A jet of fluid is therefore fed to the injector nozzle to cause weft picks to be inserted.

When the requisite twelve picks have been inserted the tape 40 starts to pass the photo cell 35 to energise the solenoid 33 and thus the roll 11 is moved from the roll 10 and the weft p is no longer fed to the storage element S.E.

At the same time the end of the tape 41 has passed the photo cell 35a and thus the solenoid 33a is deenergised so that the spring brings the roll 11 onto the roll 10 to cause weft p to be fed. The solenoid 89 is de-energised since tape 42 has passed the photo cell 36 and thus the leaf spring 94 moves the selector arm 84 downwardly to cause the catch 87 to lie in the path of movement of the cam lever 62 and to move the drop rod 83 onto the arm 66 to depress it so that its notch 67 will now contact the notch 81 of the shift lever arm 71a.

The cam lever 62 is moved by the cam 60 and thus the notch 62a is engaged by the catch 87 and is held so that the cam follower 61 is now clear of the cam 60. At the same time the lever arm 71a is moved to oscillate the shaft 63 and move arm 71 to move the valve shift lever 72 and thus close the port member 98 and open port member 97. Movement of the valve shift lever 72 also serves to locate a device, which is used to move a block or disc 19a to release the weft p or p that is to be injected into the shed.

Simultaneously the shift rod 78 moves the injection head since the arms 75 and 76 are moved and thus the injection head is positioned for yarn p from the left hand nozzle to be inserted into the shed by fluid jets fed through the selector valve port 97.

When the requisite number of picks of weft p have been inserted the cycle recommences and weft p is again fed to its weft insertion nozzle 49.

Each time an inserted weft is beaten up by the reed it is severed near the injection nozzle by the weft cutter 44.

The invention is not restricted to the details set out above. For example, the weft insertion can be controlled by a programming device using a system of rotating cams as is shown in FIGS. 12, 12a and 13. As illustrated there is provided, when only two wefts are to be inserted in a predetermined sequence, a shaft 200 having thereon a pair of cams 201 and 201a (one only of which can be seen) in each of FIGS. 12 and 12a. Each cam 201 and 201a serves to control the movement of one of the movable rollers 11 of a pair of rollers 10, 11 between which passes a weft yarn and for this purpose there is provided a cam follower 202 mounted upon the end of an arm 203 formed upon a mounting block 204 for the roller 11. The block 204 is pivotally mounted as at 205 on a fixed block 206 in which is mounted the roller 10 (see in particular FIGS. 12 and 12a). Each block 204 is spring loaded by a spring 207 so as normally to hold its roller 1 1 in contact with the corresponding roller 10. As in the previously described arrangement the roller 10 is driven from a loom shaft 208 by a belt 13 which wraps a pulley 14 on the shaft 208 and which also wraps a pulley 12 on the roller shaft 10a. A pair of pinions 212, 213 (which are the equivalent of pinions 15, 16 of FIGS. 3 and 13) are provided so that drive can be transmitted to roller 11 in the manner described above.

As can best be seen from FIGS. 12 and 12a the cams 201 and 2010 are provided with cam tracks of opposed form so that as one cam (say cam 201) serves to control the movement of a roller 11 to allow it to press onto roller 10 to feed weft p the other cam 201a is holding the other roller 11 away from its roller 10 so that there is no feeding of weft p, that is to say the cams 201 and 201a are mounted on the shaft 200 such that the movements required of the rollers 11 of the roller pairs 10, 11 are synchronised so that only one weft is being fed at any one time.

In conjunction with the operation of the rollers 10, 11 there is provided means for controlling the movement of the injection head and the clamping device. This arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. As can be seen a further cam 213 is mounted on shaft 200. A cam follower 214 is held against the cam 213, for example, by a spring 214a and is carried on a substantially T-shaped element 215 which is pivoted as shown at 215 at the junction of the arm 215a and the leg 215b of the element. At the end of the arm 215a is provided a link 216 which is connected to a shift lever 217 for the injection head I.H. A lever 218 from the shift lever 217 serves to move the injection head I.I-I. as the cam 213 rotates and moves the lever 215. The leg 21512 is connected by a link 219 to a clamping device operating arm 220 and thus as the cam 213 rotates the arm 220 will be aligned either with the clamping device 221 or 222, each of which comprises discs 19, 19 a and a spring loaded operating lever 220a. The clamping device operating arm 220 is connected to a bell-crank lever 223 pivoted at 224 to a fixed part of the loom frame and at the extremity of the lever arm 223a is a cam follower 224a which is moved by a cam 225 so that for each rotation of the cam 225 the arm 220 is moved to a position below the clamping device 221 or 222 to allow yarn to be fed to the injection head by causing that clamping device to be opened. Normally the clamping devices 221 and 222 are spring loaded to grip yarn.

If desired instead of using cams 201 and 213 to operate the mechanisms the arms 203 and 215 could be controlled by links from a dobby mechanism.

In both the arrangements described above a yarn is being drawn from the supply by the operative driven rollers the yarn clamping blocks or discs 24, 25 are caused to release and clamp the yarn successively for twelve insertions of the weft so that at each clamping of the weft yarn during beat up the supply end is held in position ready for the next insertion after beat up and severing of the inserted pick from the supply by the cutting device. The fluid jet is synchronised with the clamping device so that it is operative when the clamping device is in a position to allow weft feed through the nozzle. Due to the continuous drive of the operative rollers weft is supplied continuously to the storage device so that whilst the clamping device is operative to hold the weft yarn for severing of the inserted pick weft is being fed for the next pick into the storage device. At the same time the inoperative weft is held by its clamping device and due to its rollers being separated no feed of weft into the storage device takes place.

If it is desired after l2 picks of one weft to insert 12 picks of the second weft the programming device will have reflective strips of identical length or the cams will have identical cam track formations to cause one weft to be inserted whilst the other tape or cam is operative to disconnect the drive roller surfaces to produce a fabric in which (using two differently coloured wefts) alternating stripes of colour of 12 picks in width are produced.

Many variations of this stripe arrangement are of course possible from the case in which (on a 24 pick repeat pattern) 23 picks of one colour are inserted followed by one pick of the second colour to the opposite arrangement in which one pick of one colour is inserted to 23 picks of the second colour.

By adding additional reflective tapes and photo cells to the programming arrangement or by adding cams onto the cam shaft and by providing more nozzles on the injection head together with more clamping devices and drive rollers and more than two weft packages, more than two different wefts can be inserted thus adding to the range of pattern permutations available.

Clearly if it is desired, with any number of nozzles and associated weft feed elements available it is possible to provide for weftwise blanks to be left in the fabric by using a reflective tape or a cam which serves to keep one set of supply rollers permanently disengaged. If follows therefore that a loom can be provided with only one pair of driven rollers and associated elements in which, with the correct choice of programme card or cam one weft can be fed for a number of picks followed by a discontinuation of the drive to the rollers to produce a weftwise blank corresponding to a number of picks between each successive series of inserted picks.

In the case in which the weft is provided with a pellet (or the like) which serves to weight the end to enable it to be propelled across the shed by purely mechanical means (or by fluid means if desired) the injection head described above would be replaced by a head in which a device comparable in effect to a normal picking device in order that the weft can be propelled through the shed. It is of course possible to provide a head for use with a fluid jet propulsion means with an arrangement in which a pellet is formed on the end of the yarn prior to its insertions through the shed. Such an arrangement would be advantageous when wide fabrics are being produced.

As an alternative to the use of photo cells and reflective tapes as a programming device it is possible to use a slotted programme card and a series of feelers. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 11.

As can be seen there is provided a feeler 301 in the form of a spring. This is fixed to a rigid part 302 of the loom frame and is connected to a positive lead 30211 to a solenoid (for example solenoid 33). The programme card 303 is of the endless type and is provided with slots 304 at spaced intervals across its width and at longitudinal spacing from each other in the manner in which reflective tapes are fixed to the card 39 of FIGS. 9 and 10. The card passes between the feelers 301 and a series of magnets 305 which are connected to a negative load 3050 to the solenoid. When the card 303 reaches a position such that a feeler 301 can enter a slot 304 a circuit is made to the solenoid to energise it. When the card 303 has moved to a position such that the feeler 301 must leave the slot 304 the circuit to the solenoid is broken.

What we claim is:

1. A fluid jet loom including a weft yarn supply means, weft yarn feed means comprising a weft drive roll means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls, storage means for each said weft yarn and weft insertion means for each said weft yarn, said storage means being arranged between said weft drive roll means and said weft insertion means, selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn, whereby weft yarn may be fed intermittently or continuously by said weft drive roll means to said storage means.

2. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means for each weft yarn supply means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls, selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn, a storage means for receiving said measured and fed weft yarn continuously and adapted to retain such fed weft yarn for intermittent removal and injection, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for selectively actuating each said weft yarn feed means in accordance with a predetermined weft insertion program and means for simultaneously moving said movable weft injection means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with said predetermined weft insertion program.

3. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means for each said weft yarn supply means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls,

storage means for each said weft yarn, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for selectively actuating each said weft yarn feed means including selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn in accordance with a predetermined weft insertion program and means for simultaneously moving said movable weft injection means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with said predetermined weft insertion program.

4. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 3 in which each said weft yarn feed means comprises spindles for the rolls of said weft drive roll means, meshing pinions on said spindles for rotating said weft drive rolls, a drive pulley on one of said spindles having a belt mounted thereon for driving said drive pulley, said weft drive roll means being movable between a first position in which the surfaces of said weft drive rolls engage the weft yarn and a second position in which the surfaces of said weft drive roll means are separated by a distance sufficient to disengage the weft yarn and insufficient to disengage the meshing pinions of said spindles, each of said weft drive roll means being located between said weft yarn supply means and said storage means.

5. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 3 having a mounting unit for said movable roll of said pair of drive rolls, said mounting unit being pivotally attached to a carrier unit for the non-movable other roll of said pair of drive rolls, resilient means for normally holding said drive rolls in driving relationship, and means actuatable in accordance with a predetermined program for separating said weft drive rolls.

6. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means including weft drive roll means for each said weft yarn supply means, each said weft drive roll means having a pair of drive rolls which are movable towards and away from each other selectively to feed a weft yarn or to discontinue such feed in accordance with a pre-determined program, a mounting unit for one roll of said pair of drive rolls, said mounting unit being pivotally attached to a fixed carrier unit for a positionally fixed roll of said pair of drive rolls, and resilient means connecting said mounting unit and said fixed carrier, and program controlled means for separating each pair of said rolls; said program controlled means including a program element, a solenoid for controlling the spacing of said weft drive rolls, signal generating means for generating a signal, and sensing means; said signal generating means being connected to said solenoid, said solenoid being adapted relatively to move said weft drive rolls towards and away from each other upon receipt of said signal in accordance with a signal generated by passage of a program card past a sensing means, said solenoid being arranged to cause disengagement of said weft drive rolls, storage means for each said weft yarn, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for moving said movable weft insertion means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with a signal generated by the passage of said program card past an additional sensing means.

7. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 in which the sensing means and the additional sensing means are photocells, said program element being provided with reflective material strips.

8. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 including a fluid supply means, a fluid supply line from said fluid supply means to each insertion nozzle, valve means in said fluid supply means actuatable by said additional sensing means to ensure that fluid is supplied only to that one of said weft insertion nozzles which is in a picking position.

9. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 in which the means for moving the weft insertion means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position includes a continuously driven cam, a cam follower lever associated therewith, a pair of levers associated with said cam follower lever, one lever being associated with the weft injection means and the other with a fluid jet selective valve, said cam follower lever having program operated catch means thereon whereby it may be selectively coupled to and uncoupled from means for operating said pair of levers, said catch means being movable bctween a first position in which said cam follower lever may oscillate without actuating said pair of levers and a second position in which said catch means becomes operative to move said levers to move a weft injection head to an operative position and to operate said selector valve to enable fluid to be supplied to said weft injection head and means for holding said cam follower in said second position for a pre-determined number of increments of time, said cam follower when in said second position being unaffected by rotation of said means.

10. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 9 including a drop rod for operating said program operated catch means, a solenoid operated pivotal selector lever associated with said drop rod and having second catch means thereon, said selector lever catch in one position allowing oscillation of said cam follower lever and in a second position serving to hold said cam follower lever away from said cam.

11. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 10 in which said cam follower lever and said program operated catch means are adapted to contact each other to cause said cam follower lever to move said weft injection head and to operate said selector valve, said contact occuring after said drop rod has been engaged by said solenoid and thereafter the cam follower lever is moved to a position to oscillate said drop rod.

12. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means including weft drive roll means for each said weft yarn supply means, each said weft drive roll means having a pair of drive rolls, separate drive means in continuous driving engagement with each roll of said pair of drive rolls one roll of each pair of said drive rolls is movable towards and away from the other selectively to feed a weft yarn or to discontinue such feed in accordance with a predetermined program, a program control means for each said weft drive roll means for moving said one of said drive rolls relative to the other of said drive rolls, said program control means comprising a lever operably associated with said movable drive roll, a cam follower on said lever, and a cam, said camfollower bearing upon said cam thereby to move said movable drive roll in accordance with a program defined by the form position for injection of weft in accordance with said of said cam, storage means for each said weft yarn, a predetermined ft insertion program movable mlecnon m a weft,lrlser non nozzle 13. A loom according to claim 12 wherein there is for each said weft yarn in said weft in ection means,

and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, aiso provlded a means for Supplymg fluld only to the means for moving said movable weft injection means to insertion nozzle located at the Picking Positionposition a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking 

1. A fluid jet loom including a weft yarn supply means, weft yarn feed means comprising a weft drive roll means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls, storage means for each said weft yarn and weft insertion means for each said weft yarn, said storage means being arranged between said weft drive roll means and said weft insertion means, selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn, whereby weft yarn may be fed intermittently or continuously by said weft drive roll means to said storage means.
 2. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means for each weft yarn supply means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls, selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn, a storage means for receiving said measured and fed weft yarn continuously and adapted to retain such fed weft yarn for intermittent removal and injection, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for selectively actuating each said weft yarn feed means in accordance with a predetermined weft insertion program and means for simultaneously moving said movable weft injection means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with said predetermined weft insertion program.
 3. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means for each said weft yarn supply means including pairs of drive rolls, each pair having a weft yarn therebetween, separate means continuously driving each pair of said drive rolls, storage means for each said weft yarn, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for selectively actuating each said weft yarn feed means including selective control means operatively connected to each pair of drive roll means and operative on signal to cause selected drive rolls to drivingly engage said weft yarn or to become separated so as not to feed said weft yarn in accordance with a predetermined weft insertion program and means for simultaneously moving said movable weft injection means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with said predetermined weft insertion program.
 4. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 3 in which each said weft yarn feed means comprises spindles for the rolls of said weft drive roll means, meshing pinions on said spindles for rotating said weft drive rolls, a drive pulley on one of said spindles having a belt mounted thereon for driving said drive pulley, said weft drive roll means being movable between a first position in which the surfaces of said weft drive rolls engage the weft yarn and a second position in which the surfaces of said weft drive roll means are separated by a distance sufficient to disengage the weft yarn and insufficient to disengage the meshing pinions of said spindles, each of said weft drive roll means being located between said weft yarn supply means and said storage means.
 5. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 3 having a mounting unit for said movable roll of said pair of drive rolls, said mounting unit being pivotally attached to a carrier unit for the non-movable other roll of said pair of drive rolls, resilient means for normally holding said drive rolls in driving relationship, and means actuatable in accordance with a predetermined program for separating said weft drive rolls.
 6. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means including weft drive roll means for each said weft yarn supply means, each said weft drive roll means having a pair of drive rolls which are movable towards and away from each other selectively to feed a weft yarn or to discontinue such feed in accordance with a pre-determined program, a mounting unit for one roll of said pair of drive rolls, said mounting unit being pivotally attached to a fixed carrier unit for a positionally fixed roll of said pair of drive rolls, and resilient means connecting said mounting unit and said fixed carrier, and program controlled means for separating each pair of said rolls; said program controlled means including a program element, a solenoid for controlling the spacing of said weft drive rolls, signal generating means for generating a signal, and sensing means; said signal generating means being connected to said solenoid, said solenoid being adapted relatively to move said weft drive rolls towards and away from each other upon receipt of said signal in accordance with a signal generated by passage of a program card past a sensing means, said solenoid being arranged to cause disengagement of said weft drive rolls, storage means for each said weft yarn, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for moving said movable weft insertion means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with a signal generated by the passage of said program card past an additional sensing means.
 7. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 in which the sensing means and the additional sensing means are photocells, said program element being provided with reflective material strips.
 8. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 incluDing a fluid supply means, a fluid supply line from said fluid supply means to each insertion nozzle, valve means in said fluid supply means actuatable by said additional sensing means to ensure that fluid is supplied only to that one of said weft insertion nozzles which is in a picking position.
 9. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 6 in which the means for moving the weft insertion means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position includes a continuously driven cam, a cam follower lever associated therewith, a pair of levers associated with said cam follower lever, one lever being associated with the weft injection means and the other with a fluid jet selective valve, said cam follower lever having program operated catch means thereon whereby it may be selectively coupled to and uncoupled from means for operating said pair of levers, said catch means being movable between a first position in which said cam follower lever may oscillate without actuating said pair of levers and a second position in which said catch means becomes operative to move said levers to move a weft injection head to an operative position and to operate said selector valve to enable fluid to be supplied to said weft injection head and means for holding said cam follower in said second position for a pre-determined number of increments of time, said cam follower when in said second position being unaffected by rotation of said means.
 10. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 9 including a drop rod for operating said program operated catch means, a solenoid operated pivotal selector lever associated with said drop rod and having second catch means thereon, said selector lever catch in one position allowing oscillation of said cam follower lever and in a second position serving to hold said cam follower lever away from said cam.
 11. A fluid jet loom as set forth in claim 10 in which said cam follower lever and said program operated catch means are adapted to contact each other to cause said cam follower lever to move said weft injection head and to operate said selector valve, said contact occuring after said drop rod has been engaged by said solenoid and thereafter the cam follower lever is moved to a position to oscillate said drop rod.
 12. A fluid jet loom including at least two weft yarn supply means, a weft yarn feed means including weft drive roll means for each said weft yarn supply means, each said weft drive roll means having a pair of drive rolls, separate drive means in continuous driving engagement with each roll of said pair of drive rolls one roll of each pair of said drive rolls is movable towards and away from the other selectively to feed a weft yarn or to discontinue such feed in accordance with a pre-determined program, a program control means for each said weft drive roll means for moving said one of said drive rolls relative to the other of said drive rolls, said program control means comprising a lever operably associated with said movable drive roll, a cam follower on said lever, and a cam, said cam follower bearing upon said cam thereby to move said movable drive roll in accordance with a program defined by the form of said cam, storage means for each said weft yarn, a movable weft injection means, a weft insertion nozzle for each said weft yarn in said weft injection means, and fluid supply means for said weft insertion nozzle, means for moving said movable weft injection means to position a selected weft insertion nozzle in a picking position for injection of weft in accordance with said pre-determined weft insertion program.
 13. A loom according to claim 12 wherein there is also provided a means for supplying fluid only to the insertion nozzle located at the picking position. 